It was a warm, slightly humid day at Pine Valley Golf Club, with only a little wind to complicate the already difficult challenge of a course that tops almost all of the course ranking lists.

The course held its own as usual, with no one in the 70-player elite mid-amateur field breaking par.

Walker Cupper and Masters Low Amateur Stewart Hagestad (Newport Beach, CA) shot a solid 3-over 73 and is tied for fifth and in good shape to make the championship match play flight.

Bill Williamson (USGA photo)

Past champions Stephen Summers (Dallas, TX) and Michael Muehr (Potomac Falls, VA) are also in good position after shooting 73 and 74, respectively.

Other past champions will have to improve their standing to make the top flight, including Michael McDermott (Bryan Mawr, PA) and Carlton Forrester (Atlanta, GA) who both shot 75. Four-time champion Mike McCoy (W. Des Moines, IA), who is eligible for the Senior Division but is competing as a Mid-Amateur, shot a 79.

In the Mid-Amateur Division the 70 players are competing for 48 spots in match play. The championship flight will be comprised of the top 16 players after tomorrow's second round, with two additional flights of 16 players each. After round one, 17 players sit at 4-over or better, and the cut for the 48th match play spot is currently 8-over 78.

In the Senior Division, Chris Lange (Bryn Mawr, PA) shot a 2-under 68 to lead the field by one shot. Gene Elliott (W. Des Moines, IA) and >John McClure (Austin, TX) had the only other under-par rounds, each shooting a 1-under 69.

The defending Senior champion Jim Lehman (Minneapolis, MN) shot an 80 and will need a good second round to make the championship flight and have the chance to repeat.

30 senior players are contending for 16 spots. The top 8 will make up the championship flight, with one additional flight of 8 players. The competition for the two flights will be tight--after round one the cutoff for the championship flight is 6-over 76; for the second flight it is 8-over 78.

Notes on Round 1: How hard is Pine Valley? Only 5 out of 70 mid-ams were able to finish their rounds without making at least one 6 or worse. Tournament leader Bill Williamson and Stewart Hagestad were two of those players.

Good players usually look to make up shots on par fives, but not so at Pine Valley. Both par fives played well over par, with the 7th (with its Hell's Half Acre) averaging almost 5.5 shots, and the 15th (with its tight layup area and steeply pitched green) averaging 5.6 and only yielding two birdies all day out of 100 total players in the field.

Randy Haag found an unusual way to shoot even par. He offset two 7's (at the par-five 7th and the par-four 11th) with five birdies and no other dropped shots.

Matt Sughrue, who made a deep run in the U.S. Senior Amateur after finishing runner-up last year, played 17 good holes on Thursday but had a 10 on the par-four 16th. After making a bounceback birdie on 17, he finished with a 77 and is one one shot off of the 8th and final spot for the senior championship match play bracket.

ABOUT THE Crump Cup

The George A. Crump Memorial Tournament--
named
for the
hotelier and course architect most famous for
building
Pine Valley -- is arguably the premier mid-
amateur
event in the United States. The invitational field
is
made of of top players from around the United
States
and the UK. The format for the four days is two
rounds
of stroke play qualifying, followed by four
rounds
of
match play. Players are flighted according to
their
qualifying position, and a separate Senior flight
includes three of those flights. Jay Sigel has won
the
event the most times, with nine victories
between
1975 and 1993.

Sunday at The Crump Cup is unique; the
public is invited to spectate the final matches - a
shuttle
from a nearby parking area is provided.